1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the removal of feathers from a poultry carcass and, more particularly, to removal of feathers from the wing tip of poultry.
2. Background Art
For commercially raised poultry, such as for example, chickens, turkeys, specialty hens, and etc., they are typically raised at a growing facility and then transported to processing facilities where the poultry is slaughtered and then the poultry carcass is processed for sale, where the process includes removing feathers, evisceration, and sometimes separation of parts. Feather removal is one of the initial steps in the process. There are various prior art de-feathering methods and machines, where the carcasses are first scalded with high temperature water to assist the removal of feathers and then transported through a “picking” line. A typical picking line utilizes a conveying system by which poultry carcasses are carried between or along picking devices including rotating disks or drums having rubber picking fingers extending there from, pinch rollers and etc. As the carcasses traverse the picking line, the rubber fingers or rollers or other devices contact the carcasses and capture, grasp and/or bind and pulls the feathers in some manner, thereby removing them as the carcass continues along its path of conveyance. Many of the picking devices in the prior art are intended to operate on a whole carcass prior to separation of the carcass into its piece parts.
Feathers left on birds can be a big customer complaint in the poultry industry. Excessive feathers on wing tips will cause them to be considered a downgrade whereby they cannot be sold to consumers. Feathers are hard to remove from the wing tip, tail, and shoulder/neck area. A method and apparatus for removing feathers that can be used to satisfy the customer is needed. This is particularly true for wing parts that have already been separated from the carcass. An aggressive method and apparatus is needed when removing wing feathers, which does not result in broken wings. The poultry industry has a difficult time producing enough wings to meet customer demand that will meet customer criteria. An invention is needed that will increase A-grade (highest quality) wing harvest.
Existing feather machines are called ‘pickers’. Pickers have been used in poultry processing for several years. Many pickers literally beat the feathers off with rubber cones shaped like fingers. However, these devices are not very effective in removing tail or wing tip feathers. Also, usually only one bird carcass is able to be presented to the machine at a time. Some mechanical devices have been developed which are not very effective that use smooth rollers or that has rollers that look like an auger or helical gear. Many of these devices are overly aggressive and damage the carcass by pulling the carcass into the rollers. Also, many of these devices are not designed to consistently and reliably present a wing tip or tail to the rollers creating a pinch point. A better feather puller apparatus is needed particularly for removing feathers that remain on wing tips. Further, most wing tip feather removers available are designed to try to de-feather the wing while the wing remains on the carcass and while the carcass is being conveyed in overhead shackles.
Numerous feather picking devices have been disclosed and patented for overcoming certain problems associated with picking feathers from birds. These devices have been designed to be utilized with birds of different size, for continuous flow of birds into a feather plucking system, and addressing the problem associated with scarring the bird's skin by the use of a feather picking device. Although the prior art inventions are extremely useful for their stated purposes they do not overcome the problem associated with providing a feather picking device which can be used on birds of all sizes and where the wing has already been separated from the carcass.
Poultry picking machines utilizing counter-rotating picking apparatus are well known. Typically, such machines include horizontally spaced, longitudinally extending, generally parallel banks of individual cylindrical drums, one bank of drums generally opposing the other. Alternating drums in each bank are rotated in opposite directions thereby causing the flexible picking fingers attached thereto to be rotated in opposite directions against the fowl to be picked.
Typically, the mechanisms for rotating the individual drums in opposite directions have included single, elongated axles on which all of the drums have been mounted. Various drive means including belts, pulleys, or even gears have been mounted on second elongated shafts extending parallel to the single axle on which all of the drums are mounted. The second shaft is rotated in one direction with the belts or gears engaging alternating drums on the parallel axle to move those drums in the same direction as the second shaft. At the same time, a power source turns the axle on which all of the drums are mounted in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the second shaft causing the remaining drums which are fixed to the first axle to be rotated in an opposite direction.
However, in modern poultry processing plants the birds are typically hung or suspended in an inverted or head-down attitude from an elevated overhead conveyor and moved in sequence by the conveyor through various processing stations in which the birds are killed, de-feathered, opened and eviscerated. When the birds reach the feather removal station of the process, various devices have been used including a multiple number of flexible picking fingers, which engage the bird carcasses, pinch rollers, brushes and other feather removing mechanisms, however, these type systems usually entail complex mechanisms and are not suitable for use with wing portions that have already been separated from the carcass.
Further the above type feather picking equipment have to be adjustable to facilitate engagement of the picking mechanism with the appropriate surface area of the carcass, for example the wing tip, and the adjustability must accommodate different sized birds and other irregularly shaped birds, and if the size of the birds to be processed is changed it is necessary to reorient the positions of the picking devices or have a complex mechanization for reorienting the carcass. For example, it may be necessary to raise or to lower the picking mechanism to accommodate smaller or larger birds, or to move the picking mechanism further away from or closer to the path of travel of the birds to accommodate larger or smaller birds, and to orient the picking mechanism so as to engage the various surfaces of the birds. Further, in order to keep the fowl in proper picking orientation, the prior machines have included counter-rotating drums wherein the drums rotating downwardly are rotated faster than the drums rotating upwardly. This necessitated different driving mechanisms for the counter-rotating drums adding complexity and expense to such machines.
Regardless of the mechanization, feathers are often missed by the various apparatus. Therefore, a picking mechanism is needed that addressed the wing portion after separation and prior delivery.